October Celebrations & Events on Pinterest

Monday, October 1, 2012

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things…and why the sea is boiling hot…and whether pigs have wings." ~Lewis Carroll~ The Walrus and the Carpenter

Hi Everyone.

As many of you know, today, October 1, 2012, is the five year anniversary of Months of Edible Celebrations. After 5 years and 469 blog posts, I have made the very difficult decision to bid farewell to "Blogsville" or in this case, Blogger. I've attempted many ambitious posts in these past five years but not one has caused me as much anguish as this one. For that reason, I'm going to try and keep this final post as brief as possible.

I can't tell you how much these years have meant to me. You all are such loyal and devoted readers. I often ask myself what I have done to deserve such readership. However, this blog has never been about me. I've tried to design it as a fun place to visit filled with a community of people who relish the celebration of food.

The choice to celebrate food events was made a very long time ago; long before the dawning of weblogs or as we now call them blogs. It was way back in 1998 when I had my first website on America Online. In those days, the only way to really have the freedom of design and choice of words was by joining an online community which afforded the optimum opportunity of reaching out to the world online. Unlike today's blogging platforms, designing such a place was both time consuming and rather cumbersome. HTML which is the coding format behind how web pages and blogs are displayed, was an uncharted course which I dove right into and to this day, I am glad I taught myself how to do it. However, as you can imagine, I spent timeless hours researching each and every word I offered to the world and through the years, those words have come back to me in the growth I have seen in subjects which at the time were yet to be explored.

Ever evolving and spinning, the world wide web has become a place of limitations with no limits. I no longer wish to stay within the confines of food and its celebrations. You may not know this but before I started blogging, I did all kinds of creative things which I find I no longer have time to explore. I miss them. Don't get me wrong, I will miss you all too and all that you bring to the table.

Writing this post I realize it isn't all that different than when I made the move to Pennsylvania a few years back; a tinge of remorse and the wonder of the unknown. Or when I retired from a job I had worked at for more than twenty years. Boy was I scared! I have since become the owner of a very successful environmental business in my home state. That business has become more and more demanding this last year so and I find it necessary once again to travel back and forth from PA to New York on a more regular basis. Let's call this reason #1 for this tough decision.

Reason #2 is much more personal. I find myself spending way too much time in front of my computer. Mind you, we have become very close as we mirror our visitors but all around us we can feel the banter of the world outside and once again, would like to participate. I've tried through the years to find harmony, a balance but truth be told, it isn't enough. I need to drag myself away from the computer and "stop and smell the roses."

You "guys" have taught be so much through the years. I can't even begin to Thank You. Each and every one of you has added such a dimension to how I will now view that world outside, I can't even find the words to explain it. I think I've tried a few times so I hope you remember:)

As much as I will miss you all, please realize, I'm happy about this decision. I feel a sense of freedom, a thrill of excitement at what may be around the next corner. I may even materialize as a new dot.com one day. For that reason I have secured the name MonthsOfEdibleCelebrations.com. Just in case:)

I just couldn't bid you all farewell without mentioning The Picnic Game. We sure have had some mighty fine online picnics these last few years. Once again I am in awe of all of your culinary talents and tenacity. I think I will miss the festivities of International Picnic Day the most. It's hard to imagine that we actually joined so many people from so many places into one incredible online picnic. It was not only incredibly fun, it was extraordinary too!!! Thank YOU!

Each and every one of you has a piece of my heart and remembrance. I will always cherish our visits and our conversations. But, I will no longer be making visits to your homes online and I haven't yet decided what I will be doing about Twitter or Pinterest for that matter. My plan is to take a hard break from all things online for the month of October while I tend to the many chores and joys I find I can no longer have tugging at my heart. Thank you all so very much, I will miss you, Louise.

Louise I going through your post I had so many mixed feelings. Form joy to sadness and backwards. I am sad you are leaving our community, I think your articles were very coherent, full of knowledge and they were really showing the hard work behind them. On the other hand I am happy that you made a decision that will help you focus on other very important things in your life! Blogging is tough, I've been doing this for 4 years and there are times when I feel really exhausted. It does take time from things I love, but I am still not ready to say goodbuy. Who knows what will happen in the future. I wish to you a big success to whatever you do and also to fill the free time you will have now with all sorts of interesting things! Wish you all the luck!

Oh, Louise! I will definitely miss you and your thoughtful posts. That said, I completely understand. I wish you the very best in all that you do from this day forward. And I'll be thinking of you come picnic time... Hope to cross paths with you again one day. :) Heather

Oh my, I'll miss you, too, Louise. I'm sure you've thought about this--and thought about it --and it's the right thing for you to do at this time. Wishing you the best of success in all your endeavors. I'll miss your posts and updates about food, your garden, cookbooks, and people. Onwards and upwards.

Oh Louise, I will miss you, your posts, your sense of humor and your wonderful comments more than I can say. I understand your decision, but it doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to you. I wish you all the best, hope you find excitement, change and exactly what you are searching for.Love and hugs to you.Barbara

Happy 5th blogoversary, Louise! Blogging does take a lot of work and we really appreciate all the effort you have put into your site. We can barely keep up posting recipes ourselves. But you are right--there is life beyond cyberspace: real life! So go out and enjoy doing what you do best. Thanks for sharing your love of food and holidays with all of us. Best wishes!

Oh, my. Louise, I am speechless. You are such a unique voice in the blogosphere and have taught me and everyone so much about the history of food and celebrations. You will be incredibly missed for your meticulous research, your humor, and your wonderful friendship that you have shared with me and everyone so graciously. I do understand though, that nothing is forever. I will miss you, my friend, and I wish you that joy that you seek!

Oh!!! Congratulations on a wonderful tenure and I will miss your edible celebrations, with such thorough research and cheerful tone. I do hope you'll continue stopping by my "kitchen." (I even had an "X" dish all planned for next year's picnic!)

I will miss you too, Louise. Although I didn't post much, I looked forward to every single one of your informative, awesomely researched posts. We always learned something new from you. Glad you're taking time to smell the roses and won't be overtaxing yourself. Blogging is a creative process, but it doesn't leave much time for the other creative things in our lives. Good luck!

Dear Louise, I will miss your wonderful posts! Blogging is fun but there are more other important matters that has priorities over blogging, that we can understand. I shall remember Our Picnic Games with fondness in my heart! We all had such a great time with our picnic, didn't we? Good luck and all the best to you in your ventures. It is a great pleasure to know you, Louise! Hugs! And say hi to Marion, I will kinda miss how you always mentioned about her! Take care!

Nooooooooooo!!! I'll miss you too much! I guess you know that I'm going to be needing therapy (or a cocktail) to get me through this. Seriously, I can't imagine keeping up the pace that you have for FIVE years, so I certainly understand your wanting to give it all a rest. Something tells me that we'll see you again. Others have tried to break the blogging habit, but it is just too strong because the community of people associated is such a lovely one. I do wish you the very best and hope you'll give me a tweet now and again. XOXO

Oh Louise, I'll miss you so. I almost want to cry - I've grown to love your blog. But things always change, and you with them. And blogging, though fun, really is a time sink. Best of luck, and I hope to see you again on the innerwebs someday. And thank you so much for all the fun, entertainment, and education you've provided us.

Oooh,...Aaah,...Louise: you will be dearly missed! I really loved your unique style of writing & I have learned a lot about the American foods & his history!Your blog was & is very different than what othet bloggers do!!!!!

I also love your old recipes from old cookery books & natioanl pancake day, etc!!! I will love you forever! :) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I also wanted to cry! :(

I just found you in the last 2 months, so I'm sad you're leaving, but I have to admit, I'm considering the same thing. At some point I tallied the amount of time I spent on blogs and considered what could I be accomplishing out there in the real world with the same hours. A lot more I think. You're a brave, inspirational woman. Thanks.

Awe Gee, you "guys" I truly appreciate all your kind words. I must admit, this is not going to be easy. I miss you all so much already and it hasn't even been a week! Thank you so much for all your kind words. So far this week I've managed to finally get the garden ready for sleep AND, I've finished a polymer clay project I started 2 years ago!!! And guess what else??? Marion is teaching me to crochet!!! Next is sewing, lol...

Hi Louise, Have been thinking about you! Hooray for completing your clay project! You are busy with Marion too! That is cool, I have not touched a crochet needle for more than 20 years now, and not sure if I even remember how to! Sewing? I'm guilty as charged! My sewing project was abandoned, a quilt actually, supposed to be for my daughter, a project I started when she was nine, now she is fourteen, oops....shame on me!!!! Take care, Louise! Say hi to Marion!

Oh my! You were one of my first "blog friends"! I will miss you so much, but I understand the energy this takes--I have pulled back a little lately myself (which is why it took me a few days to see this). I hope you leave up your Pinterest boards--I set a goal to cook my way (at least part way) through your fondue board--and from you I know that November is fondue month(which I actually plan to celebrate this year ;-) ) BTW I just took a knitting class and am halfway through a hat for winter. And a jewelry crimping class--just a couple crimps away from a new necklace! So I know there is much fun out there for you. Best of luck in all you do.

I'll definitely will miss you, Louise, with all your stories and celebrations. You've been a good blogger in sharing with us all your entertaining experiences. THANK YOU for all you've done and I wish you the Very Best! Take care & God Bless.

Louise, I will miss you. But I do understand your reasons for leaving; I, too, find Blogger to be frustrating, and I'm sure many others do, too. But mostly, you need to get out there and return to those things that gave you great joy! Just as long as you know I'll be thinking fondly of you (as will many others), and hope you can find time to some day return. Have a lovely October, and beyond! See you around.

dear louise, in the beginning i thot you will be sharing with us some celebration events in conjunction with your blog anniversary. boy, im a lil shocked now but understand how blogging takes up a lot of our time. You will be greatly missed, thank you for the picnic game which you did a very good job and wishing you all the best!! yeah, hope one day you will come back with dot.com and dont forget to inform us! take care! Hugs!

Oh, sad! I wondered what was up when you mentioned changes, as I had taken a break while making my own decisions. You will be very much missed. I hope the blog stays up as a resource, and hopefully we'll all get to see you now and then. Best wishes to your future endeavors.

Hi Louise! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog recently. Such a shame that I'm only learning about you now that you have chosen to take a break - your blog looks absolutely lovely and I wish I'd gotten a chance to know you. However, you are absolutely right that blogging and living a life (otherwise what do we have do blog about?) is a hard balance. So I sincerely wish you the best and hope you find what your heart longs for. God bless x

I'm sad reading this my dear friend Louise. But I do understand. Maybe one day you'll come back - on a part time basis?! I'll be here if you do. I wish you the best in all you do! (I will miss the picnic game too!) Take care! xoxo

Dear Louise,While I am extremely sorry to hear this, I completely understand the motivations for your bittersweet decision. There is no question I will miss your wonderful posts and your extremely warmhearted voice. Thank you for all the recipes, good humor, and incredibly interesting information you've shared with your readers over the years. Warmest wishes always,Jane (from Jane's Sweets & Baking Journal)

Oh Louise, I came back from vacation and find out that this is your last post? I am sad but I do understand you...you have to follow your heart and who knows someday you decide to come back.Good luck and I wish you the best.

I'm saddened that you will no longer be blogging, Louise, but I understand--totally!--your intention and reasons. I'm considering stopping my blog once I graduate from college as well. I feel that would be a good turning point. I'm sad, but happy for you, as it just means you'll have more energy and time to do other things. I wish you all the best in your life, Louise, in every thing that you do, every person that you meet. And thank you for all the wonderful posts over the years!

I think every single blogger can relate to your predicament and therefore, your decision. You will definitely be missed, Louise, but you must enjoy life to the fullest...and know that we'll all be here waiting if you decide to return. All my best, Liz

Oh Louise! Of course I am so sad that you will be discontinuing this blog as it is the best, just the best place to go to see what fun things are going on with food. I know you know that's what I think :) and that I also think you have a fine book buried here in your blog, should you ever decide to pursue yet one more creative avenue. But I think, like most of your readers have probably already expressed, you are wise to stop blogging if you find it is taking you away from all those other activities, creative and otherwise, that you want to pursue. To borrow a phrase that author Gladys Taber once said about the television: The computer is a wonderful thing, but one has to know when to turn it off! I wish you all the best, my blogging friend, as you follow whatever is calling you in this phase of life. I will continue to come back here and look at your archives whenever I am pondering questions like: Just when, exactly, is rutabaga month?

My dear Louise, I stopped blogging 5 months ago and now I feel I really miss all of the friends I made here. Today I started reading my favourite ones including you of course. I still am not sure if I am ready to post but going around to taste all the goodies that our blogging pals are sharing. Hope you are well Louise. It was always a pleasure to read you and I know you put in a lot of work and research in each post.After visiting you today; I am re thinking it all.Hugs,Rita

Louise - I will miss you and all your creative, witty posts and the picnic game! I do wish you every success and that you will find the balance you are looking for - I completely understand your decision and will be taking a short break from blogging myself in the near future.

Dearest Louise, This is sudden & I'm really sad to hear this but I totally understand your desicion. I'm definitely going to miss you. I've learned so much from your blog & it was really fun joining the Picnic Game. I was thinking of taking a break from blogging recently but I still enjoy baking. With my hubby's encouragement, I've decided to continue blogging for another year. Sometimes we have listen to our heart & accomplish the things that will make us happy. I wish you all the best in your future project & you can count on me if you decided to come back. Sending you lots of LOVE & hugs dear Louise. Your ever faithful friend, KIT

Oh Louise, I’ll so miss visiting you! Your posts are so informative and interesting! Take time…smell the roses and maybe you’ll surprise us every once in awhile with a short post! Enjoy your time off the grid!! Best of luck with what ever you choose to do!

Hi Louise,Thank you for stopping by! You must be really busy with Christmas round the corner. You know, I have been looking at the title of your blog post, at my right side bar, to see if there are any changes, whenever I pay a visit to my blog friends! Hope everything has worked out well for you! Take care!

Im late to the news as always, but can totally relate tour decision. Its hard to find balance with blogging and life and knowing when to step away and focus on more important things. I will you many blessings , peace and prosperity in the New Year.

Sometimes we have to make decisions to move on. I understand that blogging takes a whole lot of time and that sitting in front of the computer can kill me. I have had issues too especially when my other half complains the hours I am blogging, replying comments etc etc.

I have cut down, no more trying to be a hero and posting everday. I take a break in between and so far it has been under control.

Dear Louise, I totally get where you are coming from. I wish all the best that life has to offer. I can relate to all that you are saying. I often find myself very limited in time, and the free time I do have is on the computer. I yearn to do the creative things that define me as a person. Sometimes, we need a break from technology. Enjoy it. I haven't always commented on your blog, but I love to read what you write. Your amazing! Have a very Happy New Year!!!!!

Hi Louise, I am so glad to see your comments on my blog...and I totally understand your desire to cease blogging...although I must admit that I miss your informative posts and always reminding us to celebrate every day. I hope you are enjoying your life and again thank you so much for stopping by...Warm regards...Juliana from SimpleRecipes[dot]Me

Hi Louise, how are you? I hope all is well. It was lovely to hear from you. I hope your enjoying the winter months. I am totally looking forward to Spring. I haven't really been blogging as much. Just too busy with life! Actually, I do enjoy being away from the computer as much as possible and having time with my family, especially my teenage daughter. Great to hear from you again and stay well!Smiles,Angela

Dearest Louise, Stopping by to say thank you for visiting and for your birthday wishes. I miss all of you and am trying to keep up a bit with visiting. I hope all is well. Blessings and xoxo, Catherine

Dear Louise, I am happy for you. You seem positive in your tone and sure of your heart. I am happy to have met you in this blogging world and to have shared your friendship.Thank you for your kind visits and comments. I wish you all the best and will keep you in my prayers.Blessings dearest. Catherine xoxo

Louise, I know I'm a bit too late for this but I still have to tell you that i'm going to miss you & International Picnic Party. ((hugs)) Hope will hear from you some day.Btw, I would love to have your permission to keep the PICNIC party running. Is it possible?Blessings, Kristy